Mozartian Musical Musings

We each have things that resonate with us individually in an indescribable way — to us, the greatness of those things is the most apparent truth in the world, but if others do not naturally have the same understanding, then it is near impossible to convey that greatness. The difficulty lies in trying to explain something that is an experience — one must experience it for themselves. For me, this “thing” is Mozart’s music.

From my perspective, he is terribly misunderstood — sure his tunes are catchy, and so they remain popular, but mostly for the background of TikTok and such, for comedic effect. Other than that, he is probably mostly viewed as having boring, pleasant music fit for playing in the background while studying (which is a bit pointless, since the notion that Mozart boosts intelligence is absolute rubbish). However, there is so much more than that to his music.

To begin with, I never cease to be mesmerized by the effortlessness with which it sounds Mozart wrote his music, and yet the simultaneous presence of such complexity, genius, and inspired perfection that underlies the foremost layer of easiness. There is a simplicity and artlessness to his music that, when recognized, is so incredibly impactful. Sometimes, it seems one can sense when composers were making a conscious effort to produce something great and that they felt the pressure to prove their mastery and worth as a true artist. I have nothing against works where this is detectable —many are quite impressive— however, the complete lack of this sense in Mozart’s music is partly what makes me so awed by it. The beauty and perfection seem naturally to flow forth, without striving to make a point -- the music just is.

Mozart truly focused on the music and wrote what he knew would be wonderfully musical. This seems like an obvious obvious thing to do, however music’s genuineness is often tinged with self-consciousness and the desire to attain a certain effect or eminence. Mozart’s music is profoundly humble; it is not grandiose, but effortlessly grabs one's attention as having goodness, beauty, and purity seemingly not of this world.

It is easy to become lost in the streets of life's sorrows and stresses — to become consumed with and overwhelmed by the trials of the present and worry about those yet to come. Mozart’s music acts like a beacon with which I can, for a time, extricate myself from that labyrinth of mental alleys that lead nowhere. When so much evil and chaos goes on in the world, Mozart briefly paints a picture of a truly good, beautiful, and still world. I cannot speak for others, but I can only describe such experiences as what I sometimes experience listening to Mozart as transcendent.

I think Dostoevsky captures this feeling quite well, in his novel “The Devils”, when one of the characters says:

“There are seconds—they come five or six at a time—when you suddenly feel the presence of the eternal harmony perfectly attained. It’s something not earthly—I don’t mean in the sense that it’s heavenly—but in that sense, that man cannot endure it in his earthly aspect. He must be physically changed or die. This feeling is clear and unmistakable; it’s as though you apprehend all nature and suddenly say, ‘Yes, that’s right.’. . . If it lasted more than five seconds, the soul could not endure it and must perish. In those five seconds I live through a lifetime, and I’d give my whole life for them, because they are worth it.”

This leads me to think, or at least hope, that such experiences are universal.